Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

Here's some good news, yesterday I talked to my Friends that watch the Distillery for the owner and they have got me and Fricky each a complete Rye Mash Barrel with the special nails that keep the hoops in Place and it is our plan for Fricky to finish them and seal the top to preserve the Writting on the top which says Continental Distilling 1971 Rye Mash!

They are also going to get and bring over to their Home the Old Original Sign that says Kinsey Distillery Pa Distillery #10 Linfield Pa. I am going to give it to the Historic society if they want it or will keep it myself to save History!

Ludy Told me the Sign is a very Special thing as It was mounted on the front of DSP-Pa-12 when Mr Kinsey still ran it and I now do remember where it was mounted when the still stood!

With the things going on at work I have not gotten my other electrified Power switches back I got from Kinsey yet from the Contractor at work but he said early this week before he leaves for good too!

I was very Blessed that I was never laid off when I worked at Kinsey and never on strike either! Those were the days My Friends! Whiskey Flowing like rivers into and out of the Bottle House in 1966 Rivers of Old Hickory Straight Bourbon.

I am going to see how warm it gets today and I may just take a walk at Kinsey have not been there for 3 weeks plus!

I have not heard from my Friend that was a top EX at Publicker since right before Christmas I left him a message.

I will if I get there take a few snow pictures of the Plant My Friend told me he was securing doors on the Old Bottle House and he said it was so dam cold in there his breath looked like a cloud.

I am very Glad I still have my Job! It is not like the Kinsey Days of just going to work and not even thinking of being out of work.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

Here are some of the pictures I took in the rest of the Plant on Sunday afternoon! Here they are
1. I crawled into the Water Distilling Plant in Building O next to the Lunch room here are some shots of it
2. Writting on the Wall says Dec 22 1976 Joe Most likely Joe Gruber!
3. Valves on side closest to Lunch room I pushed the Mixer tank out of the way to get this shot..
4. Looking down O building toward Buildings R and M snow with tracks of the tractor my Friends use in the Plant to do work!
5. I used my New Camera's Zoom to get this shot up in the second floor of the old Dryer Room as stairs have fallen down controls on the wall. Charlie took his shower here and kept his Buggy downstairs.
6. This is one of the 4 Barn rooms Maintaince use to work on stuff this shot is of their Heat for the room this Radiator
7. The sealing of the Room had this cardboard for insulation.
8. The first maintaince Barn room old Bench and Barn window in the wall.
9. This is a wonderfull Wall for it is where I found my two 1/2 Pint Bottles of Scotch I found and it is a very tasty Scotch.
10. Inside what is left now of the Old Kinsey Bottling House where we made all our great Liqours. Line 1 would go down the side here then Line 2 which made the Caffe Liqour then at the other Plant side line 3 looking down where the old steps are you can see the floor falling in from the second floor.
11. Old Coal Pile near where the Boiler rooms were with snow covering it and the Elevator Green top sticking out of Warehouse H the last warehouse Mr Kinsey Ever Built.
12. Left to right looking from the front of the1966 Bottling House, Explosion proof warehouse M then Warehouse H and behind it Warehouses F & G.
These trips are made with one reason above all and that is to keep the History of Kinsey alive forever!

It is a sad thing for someone who worked there to see this but my goal is to save and preserve all that I can while I am here to do that!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

I have no clue what happen but the pictures did not go on with the thread so here they are below #362 writting about them I'm sorry Computers can do the damest things to you!
Dave Z
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Inver House Scotch Soft As A Kiss
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Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

One of the weirdest things when I was at Kinsey yesterday was that all the drains as I walked through the place were still working as I walked by many of them you could see the water draining toward them and then going down through them and not backing up at all!

After all these years of being abandon the drains still working what a strange thing after 23 years of sitting and rotting they still take the water as fast as it can get to them. You could hear it running down deep into the drains.

I stood there and just thought back to the old days and wished I could just step back in time for just one day to be driving to work in my 1963 Chevy and clocking in and going to work dumping barrels of whiskey or painting over the heads to get them ready to ship to Scotland!

It was always interesting working at Kinsey for Publicker Industries!
Dave Z
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It seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

It is snowing here at work in Boyertown and I am thinking about all the work a snow storm would bring when I worked on the Yard gang at Kinsey! With 199 acres and the 3 Company Homes we were always busy shoveling and plowing! Docks at the Bottling House had to be clear so that trucks and rail cars could get in!

Many a truck load of Old Hickory would go out and Inver House also. Through the years I worked there we were always busy and no hint of any trouble ahead but who could know that Mr Neuman would die in 1976 at age 76. He had gone in the Hospital in Phila for something not to bad and got something there that Killed Him From what I have been told He got the Legionairs Sickness that killed so many People there that year..

After He died the Company went into a down turn that never pulled up. But the days from 1966 through late 1971 were busy and happy years and I could not begin to tell you how much good quality Spirits flowed out of The Linfield Bottle House it ran wide open from 7:00-AM Till Midnight 5 days a week and was a hub of activity.

All the while once I was in the Warehouse we were dumping from 7:30 till 4:00 every day five days a week Thousands of Barrels of great Whiskey.
The Trouths were just a set of screens with raised wood sides and we would roll them up making sure that each one would hit a spot where the Bung could be pulled and it could be rolled to pour out. The screens kept the Charcoal out for the most part and there were no covers over the Trougths so any dirt or dust would be filtered out later in the process before blending and bottling.

Even in this cold weather we dumped every day and there was always enough heat to make sure the Whiskey aged right. Also the coopers would look for leaking Barrels and repair them and if they had a leaking Wood Worm Hole take a little cone shaped piece of wood reem the hole a little then pound it in and break it off. The wood it was made of a softer wood and swelled up quickly to stop the Leak!

When I went with my Friends to pick a barrel out for me and Fricky They showed me one of the Old Filters cans that went out of the Warehouse to the Bottle House it was half full of Old whiskey that had sat in it for better then 29 yrs! It smelled so Dam good yet and It brought back so many Memories too me of the Fumes back those days in the warehouses I alway loved them! It like a sinus opener for sure.

Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
==============================================

Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

One of the weirdest things I saw on Sunday when I walked around Kinsey was that as I walked I noticed that everywhere that there was melting snow it was still flowing down into the Heavy duty drains that had been put there in the 1940's. They were working so good it was as if the Place was still alive and operating. What a tribute to how well things were made when they built all the Explosion proof warehouses!

I have seen much newer places sitting like this and the drains were either pushed up from freezing on the ground or pluged and not working. The drains were taking the water as fast as it could flow to them. It was surreal in that I could hear the water running down deep into the ground and doing just what they were designed to do.

I just wish that somehow the Place could have been saved all those years ago or at least have made the Warehouses into Unique Lofts & Condos but no they sit and rot. It is a hard thing to see but going there always cheers me just to walk and remember.

I am hoping to soon get the sign that used to be on the front of DSP-Pa-12 once the weather breaks. And if the weather gets as warm as they are saying on Sunday I will walk again through Kinsey remembering and taking Pictures & People.
Dave
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

Working At Kinsey was almost like a big Family we helped each other and we had the fund that Walt created to help those who were out for some reason by selling Kinsey Benifit Tickets, baskets of Cheer and other stuff! For the Most part all the company Boss's were very nice and fair to us and the Best Part was Publicker was very proud that they were An American company and they were generous in our wages.

It was and always will be the Best Place I ever worked and I wish i would have stayed there till the end! Where I am now is getting very worrisome people being pushed out every couple of months and no thought to you as a person. Publicker was not like that they were a people Company and an Icon in the making of Alcohol.

The Kinsey Distillery was a Picture of what a Plant should look like a peaceful lovely Place with wildlife all arround and Many people having Happy Lives being employed there.

We just did our jobs and that was it, I never had any Boss yell at me or give me a hard time if you messed up you would be told you can do better and that was it!

Just my opinion
I think that Continental Distilling made some of the very Best Whiskeys ever made and just as good if not better then some Finest of them now. Even though we were big Our Products were made and aged to make them right there with anyones.

Dave Z
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It seems all The Nicest People drink Old Hickory
America's most magnificent Bourbon
==============================================

Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

When I started at Kinsey and through the time I worked there Continental was always looking for cars and trucks at resonable prices to use around the Plant as It was just too big to walk and get where you needed in time also the only Bathroom in the warehouse area was in O Building the Lunch room and Government Men had their own there!

It you wanted to get to the break room for break, lunch or out front to go out at lucnh you had to catch the Green 1951 Dodge Flat truck with Mike Zuno when he came to your location and also at the end when He picked you up. You would climb up on the flat bed and ride.

We had lots of Old cars I remmeber now that we Had a 1951 Pontiac and a 1941 Desoto besides the Old 1951 Plymouth that Bonda drove and of crouse our Blue 1951 Ford Pickup which was in great shape the 3 poor Old 1941 Ford Flat trucks beat bad and Mikes 1951 Dodge. later there was a 1954 Caddy made into a Pickup and Of course My Personal Favorite Charlies Model A frame with a open bolted on seat no hood windshield, no fenders no lights and a 100 Horse Power Ford Flat Head V8 put in it by Dickie Phiefer Charlie loved doing Burnouts with it He could light them up!

Cars & trucks would be roaring back and forth all day the old Ford Flat trucks and the Dodge taking barrels from a warehouses that did not have a dump trouth to ones that did.

This time of year we would be outside in the yard gang taking care of snow sweeping all the buildings including ones never used any more they still got swept and had heat and sprinkler including DSP-Pa-12 and DSP-Pa-10.

I have so many thoughts on those great days, The Company Nurse that drank Bourbon and Coffee every day was in the first floor of the Old Company House out front near the Old Bottle House and George Dill had all the second floor attic and a little bit of the first floor then!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The nicest People Drink Old hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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Re: My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

Jono The answer to that is very easy there were 4 trucks and many of the 14 warehouses had no dump trough and driving a truck was a higher paying job on our Contract so only those who knew how to truck # one and had enough time there # two drove them!

In the yard gang it was different we all drove the pickup from time to time. I had to be there a while over 2 yrs then when I was bumped into the warehouse and someone was out sick I sometimes got that pay and drove one! They always used Mike Zuno's Dodge to pick us up because it had wooden sides to keep us from falling off hopefully!

You would have to walk the Place to see how big it was to understand how things worked. In dirrent areas of the plant there was alway one warehouse that had a dump trough.

Hundreds of Barrels got dumped everyday so you could not just have someone jump in a truck and take them, things had to be all planed out each day for barrels dumped where and when! The system worked well They never ran out of spirits coming in the Bottle house as they used it we were dumping it to go to tanks for the next day. Also some tankers came in with other spirits from Phila.

All in All It was a fun job and I enjoyed working there more then I ever relised and after I had left for many years I paid for it by making lots less money and doing Jobs I Hated very Much. When you are young you listen to people some times and make mistakes. It is apart of growing up and teaches you to be more careful with things in your Life, Life Is The Best teacher there Is!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon
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